"He doesn't always turn it on. That's the thing," said Nick Aliotti, Oregon's defensive coordinator. "He's got to learn to play like that all the time."

Former NFL scout Dan Shonka, general manager of Ourlads Scouting Services, called it "the big question mark on him" before the NFL draft.

But even that probably isn't enough of a downside to keep him from turning pro – and being picked in the first two rounds on April 29. Ngata (pronounced "NAH-ta") said he's already interviewed five to seven player agents to represent him if he forgoes his final year of college eligibility. If Ngata does go pro, as expected, tomorrow's Pacific Life Holiday Bowl game against Oklahoma will mark the end of a college career that's often been as personally burdensome for him as it has been for his opponents.

Two years ago, he almost quit. His father, Solomone, had died in an auto accident after his freshman year. Later the next year, Ngata opened his sophomore year by suffering a season-ending knee injury.

Now, on the eve of what is likely to be his last game in a Ducks uniform, Ngata said, "I'm loving it" – life, football and most everything in between.

Ngata, a Mormon, rededicated himself to his religion. He battled past several injuries. This year, when Ngata has been healthy, Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti called him "the dominant football player on the field" – even if it didn't happen on every play, a consistency problem that might have as much to do with the laws of nature as anything else. After all, how can a man who's that big (6 feet 5 inches, 340 pounds) and who exerts that much power (a 505-pound bench press) be physically capable of unleashing that much energy on every single play?

Sometimes it seems as if he does anyway.

In Oregon's 28-21 win against Cal on Nov. 5, Ngata rang up four solo tackles, seven assists and batted down two passes. With amazing grace on foot for somebody his size, he bowled around from sideline to sideline to help limit the Cal offense to 88 passing yards. "He couldn't get blocked," Aliotti said.

By season's end, he was the Ducks' first consensus first-team All-American since Mel Renfro in 1962.

Bellotti at one point even said "he's probably the best football player to play here."

To put such praise in perspective – and to show just how much punch Ngata can pack into short slivers of time – consider that Ngata's three-season college career at one time or another was put on hold, almost ended or physically hobbled.

In December 2002, Ngata was home in Salt Lake City when tragedy struck his father in a single-truck rollover accident. His father was perhaps Ngata's biggest fan.

"He was real humbled when it happened," said Oregon center Enoka Lucas, Ngata's roommate. "You could see it took away part of him."

After he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during the first quarter of the season opener in August 2003, Ngata wondered if enough was enough.

"I thought about quitting to go home to take care of my mom," said Ngata, now 21. "That was my worst point – after ACL surgery. I wasn't really into my religion that much then. I was feeling sorry for myself. Then that winter I decided I had to mature and get over it."

He did but still wasn't considered full strength until midway through the next season. This year, he's been hobbled by an ankle sprain in his last two games.

Other minor nagging health problems have bothered him, too, evidence perhaps that human joints can't easily support that much power and mass – a system he keeps fueled with about two big daily doses of rice and meat.

As far as he remembers, he's always been big and always good on his feet, which are covered in size-18 shoes. He started playing football at age 8 and moved on to become the top defensive standout in the country as a senior in high school, according to SuperPrep.

Born in Inglewood but raised in Salt Lake City, he originally committed to play at BYU. But Bellotti's defensive backs coach, Mike Gillhamer, knew Ngata's high school coach and kept after him until he changed his mind.

"A lot of Polynesians go there (BYU) and don't go anywhere after that," said Ngata, whose parents are from the South Pacific island of Tonga. "I wanted exposure to get to that next level. I didn't feel like BYU would do that for me."

After racking up 149 career tackles at Oregon, the soft-spoken, fun-loving Ngata finally has the exposure he's wanted. Though he said he'll wait until after the game to make his decision, he's not expected to play for free another season, given his injury history and draft projection.

Aliotti still thinks he could improve his consistency with one more year. So do NFL scouts, Shonka said. But the facts remain: Players that big and agile are a coveted breed in the NFL, even if they need a breather sometimes.

"There have been mixed reports on him, that he doesn't play hard all the time," said Shonka, who scouted for 16 years in the NFL. "That being said, some teams just want guys for 30 plays to push the pocket and say, 'We'll substitute for him if necessary.' He certainly has the raw ability to play, with a wide body like that." Brent Schrotenboer: (619) 293-1368; brent.schrotenboer@uniontrib.com